UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Reiterates On AutoZone On Balanced Risk/Reward

In a report published Monday, Morgan Stanley analyst Simeon Gutman reiterated an Equal-Weight rating on

, but removed the $575.00 price target. In the report, Morgan Stanley noted, “We recently spent time with AZO management including Bill Giles, CFO, EVP - Finance, Information Technology, and ALLDATA, Tom Newbern, SVP - Store Operations and Loss Prevention, Bill Graves, SVP - Supply Chain and International,and Brian Campbell, VP, Treasurer - Investor Relations and Tax. We walked away sensing a disconnect between the market's view of AZO's DIFM shift and how the company is approaching it. Capacity and delivery frequency will likely be increased, but it will be done methodically, both in terms of SG&A and capex, so as not to harm AZO's sacred mid single digit EBIT dollar growth formula. The stock is pricing in downside risk to this algorithm, in our view,and thus there may be some near-term upside in the context of our EW rating.” AutoZone closed on Friday at $509.10.